For me this was more of a podcast listener event than a podcast event. I attended the first year and the sessions on podcasting had “experts” that had great advice like use Soundcloud and Blue Yetis (not great advice in my opinion). The monetization panel listed one way to make money (Patreon). I chalked it up to being new. The sessions were all about fiction podcasts (which was pretty much the theme of the entire event). While I really thought this was great (as this genre may not get enough exposure at other events)

If you had made this a bit more open to other types of content creators and made this more of a networking/educational event (along with your live shows) then you might’ve been able to get sponsors (just like Podfest and Podcast movement) and a bunch more podcasters (just like podcast movement). You had a great position (six months after podcast movement, on the west coast, great location).

I did not attend last year and did not hear good things about the logistics (communicating with your team seem to be an issue). As you said before, you had set expectations. The first year of Podcast movement was very focused on monetization. They heard feedback and changed. They do this every year and just strive to make the best conference. It sounds to me like you were unwilling to change, or as you said, didn’t want to. It’s your show and I get that, but realize with a few tweaks you could’ve really made a difference.

Also, there are people with not huge audiences, but medium-sized audiences none the less that will buy tickets and bring a friend who can bring value to your conference. Here again, maybe you were just going after A-listers.

At any rate, I applaud you for giving it a shot, and for all the effort you put into your event the past two years. You had a ton of potential, and I hate to see you go.